A German court has temporarily halted the

site preparation for Tesla Inc.’s first electric car

factory in Europe.

The Higher Administrative Court for Berlin-

Brandenburg ordered Tesla to stop clearing trees

on the wooded site near Berlin until it considers

an environmental group’s appeal. In a statement

last weekend, the court said it had to issue the

injunction because otherwise Tesla might have

completed the work this week.

A lower court in Germany ruled last week

that Tesla could clear the trees for its factory.

But the environmental group Green League

Brandenburg appealed, citing the potential for

the factory to pollute the area’s drinking water

and other issues. In its statement, the higher

court said there is no reason to assume that the

Green League’s appeal won’t succeed.

German officials celebrated in November when

Palo Alto, California-based Tesla decided to

build its first European factory in the country.

Image: Jörg Carstensen

GERMAN COURT

HALTS SITE

PREPARATION FOR

TESLA FACTORY